Clark Francis recaps Jr. EliteHoopsShowcase All-American Camp

The Junior EliteHoopsShowcase All-American Camp, concluded Sunday at the Louisville Basketball Academy in Louisville, KY. Horace Neysmith provided all of those in attendance with an excellent head start on the future, as the camp featured an excellent mix of talented 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th Graders from around both the state and the country. The best player clearly was 5'10 8th Grader Justin Roberts from Indianapolis (Lincoln Middle School) IN, who is a prolific scoring combo guard that is equally at home playing either guard position.

He's quick off the dribble, is excellent at changing speeds and direction, has a knack for being able to create his own shot, sees the court extremely well, is an excellent passer and, after also being named the top player in his age group at the Junior Phenom Camp a month-and-a-half ago in San Diego, CA, it's easy to see why he will be ranked #10 when we publish our Ranking of the Top Player Nationally in the Class of 2017 in just a couple of days.

This also was our first opportunity to see 6'3 7th Grader Bol Bol from Kansas City, MO, who appears to be out of the same mold as his late father (Manute Bol) in that he's a long, lanky, athletic shot blocker with amazing agility and coordination for somebody so big and so young. He also has great hands and excellent skills, plays with a lot of energy and runs the court extremely well, and, with his genes and pedigree, it's only a matter of time before he becomes a 7-footer. In other words, we're talking about a guy with super star written all over him and, based on his projected size, athleticism, and incredible upside and potential, it's easy to see why we will have ranked among the top five players nationally in his class when later this week we publish our Ranking of the Top Player Nationally in the Class of 2018.

The biggest sleeper to emerge in the camp was clearly 6'2 Frosh Darrell Stewart from Kansas City (Piper) MO. He's more of slasher than a shooter right now, but this thoroughbred is terrific in transition and is excellent at finishing around the basket.

It also was hard not be impressed with 5'5 8th Grader Jamil Wilson from Louisville (Kammerer Middle School) KY, who is explosive off the dribble, has good ball handling and passing skills, and was the best on our list of talented local players at this camp, which also included 5'9 Frosh Brian Alvey from Louisville (Ballard) KY, 5'9 8th Grader Anthony Mathis from Louisville (Kentucky Country Day) KY, 6'1 8th Grader Caleb Williams from Louisville, KY, 5'10 7th Grader Bryant Davis from Louisville (Crosby Middle School) KY, 5'8 7th Grader A.J. Thomas from Louisville (Jefferson County Traditional Middle School) KY, 5'9 7th Grader Ahmed Price from Louisville (Farnsley Middle School) KY, 5'5 7th Grader Kobe Staunton from Louisville (Barrett Middle School) KY, and 5'6 7th Grader Anthony Wells from Louisville (Jefferson County Traditional Middle School) KY.

We also really liked 6'5 Frosh Carson Williams from Owenton (Owen County) KY, who runs the court, has deceptive agility, is aggressive on the boards, and heads our list of talented players from out in the state, which also includes 6'1 8th Grader Peyton Broughton from London (North Laurel) KY, 6'6 8th Grader Bryson Asher from London (North London) KY, and 6'2 7th Grader Jerome Reed from Paducah (Middle School) KY.

Speaking of Reed, he is a big time athlete who is just oozing with potential and he makes our list of the top-ranked players in the younger age group of the camp, behind 6'3 7th Grader Bol Bol from Kansas City, MO, 5'6 7th Grader Zach Thomas from Duncanville (Middle School) TX, 5'8 7th Grader A.J. Thomas from Louisville (Jefferson County Traditional Middle School) KY, 5'10 7th Grader Bryant Davis from Louisville (Crosby Middle School) KY, and ahead of 5'4 7th Grader Kenny Strawbridge from Belvidere (South Middle) IL, 5'9 7th Grader Ahmed Price from Louisville (Farnsley Middle School) KY, 5'6 6th Grader Zarek Thomas from Dallas, TX, and 5'5 7th Grader Kobe Staunton from Louisville (Barrett Middle School) KY.

We also have the aforementioned 6'5 Frosh Carson Williams from Owenton (Owen County) KY and 6'5 Frosh Kenny Bunton from Chattanooga (East Hamilton) TN, who was very active around the basket and one of the best rebounders in camp, ranked among the top five players in the older age group, behind 5'10 8th Grader Justin Roberts from Indianapolis (Lincoln Middle School) IN, 6'2 Frosh Darrell Stewart from Kansas City (Piper) MO, and 5'5 8th Grader Jamil Wilson from Louisville (Kammerer Middle School) KY and ahead of 6'2 8th Grader Tristan Hull from ??????????????????, 6'1 8th Grader Peyton Broughton from London (North Laurel) KY, 5'9 8th Grader Anthony Mathis from Louisville (Kentucky Country Day) KY, 5'11 8th Grader Darien Jackson from ?????????????????, 6'6 8th Grader Bryson Asher from London (North London) KY, 6'0 Frosh Colten Garland from Washington (H.S.) IN, 5'7 8th Grader Demierre Black from Marietta (Lovinggood Middle School) GA, 5'11 8th Grader Darius Perry from Atlanta (Tapp Middle School) GA, 6'1 8th Grader Caleb Williams from Louisville, KY, 5'9 Frosh Brian Alvey from Louisville (Ballard) KY, and 5'7 8th Grader Collin Sexton from Marietta (Lovinggood Middle School) GA.